Calling
Title: Calling (3/5)
Author: Me!
Rating: PG for parts 1 and 2. This too I think.
Spoilers: Post-Doomsday... yes, another one.
Summary: Rose stared in disbelief. None of this made sense, and part of her wished that it wasn’t her problem to deal with.
Disclaimer: The Doctor is not mine. Yet.
Author’s Note: Right, this is definately going to be in 5 parts. This is a little longer than the other parts, but things are moving on quickly for Rose now!
Part One
Part Two
Rose slung her backpack over her shoulder, and opened the TARDIS door. Of all the ways that she had suspected Jackie might react, acceptance wasn’t one of them. It had been surreal, saying goodbye again. Now that her mother had Pete to look after her, and Jack to look after, she had told her that this was her chance at happiness, to grab it with both hands.
And Rose certainly intended to do that.
“Right, so how does this crossing universes without them collapsing thing work then?” Rose asked, as she put her bag down. There was no need to unpack it, she assumed, not until she was back on her TARDIS.
“It’s difficult to explain,” Romana replied, still deftly tapping away at the console. “Suppose that you were stabbed. What would happen?”
“I’d bleed.”
“Good. I mean, not good that you’d bleed. What would happen if you were stabbed lots of times?”
“Well, I’d bleed lots. I’d die.” Rose wondered how this strange line of questioning was related to universes.
“You would.” Romana stopped what she was doing. “Now, what if your appendix were to burst?”
Suddenly, Rose understood what Romana was getting at. “A surgeon would make a neat cut and control the bleeding, so that he could get to my appendix without me dying.” She smiled, proudly. “And that is what you are going to do, only on a bigger scale.”
Romana smiled in approval at her new recruit. “Correct! Except for one part, it will be ‘we,’ not ‘I.’ I’m going to need you to help out, I’ll tell you when and how.”
As Romana began the dematerialisation sequence, Rose had a pang of doubt. What if the Doctor didn’t want her back? What if he’d moved on? Could things pick up where they had left off? What if the Doctor had regenerated again? How long would it have been for him? What adventures had she missed? Was he even still alive? She wasn’t sure whether or not to share her concern, not least because that thought had just struck her that the Doctor and Romana might have been lovers.
“Rose, it’s time for you to show how much you can do. Come round here, watch this screen.”
Rose was brought back to reality with a jolt. Now was not the time for daydreams and doubts.
“Right, watch this screen. If this flashing dot goes outside this circle, things will get very bad very quickly. Use these buttons to keep it inside, at all costs.”
“OK.” Rose smiled; it seemed like a computer game, not travelling through space, time and voids. The way that her new friend explained things made them seem so clear. No detailed sciency stuff that she couldn’t even pronounce properly.
Romana smiled back. “I can see why the Doctor travelled with you.” She took up position at another screen, and tapped confidently at the buttons in front of her.
“And relax.” Romana stepped back from the console, and looked rather pleased with herself.
“That’s it? We’re there?” Rose had expected a rougher ride - nothing usually ran this smoothly. “We’re in my universe?”
“Yes, we are indeed. Now, no time to waste, I’m getting rather excited at the prospect of surprising the Doctor. We need to talk time. How long do you want it to be since you were separated?”
“Err, not really given it any thought. Same as for me, I suppose?
“That is sensible, yes. I want to pick up on him before he does us though, ah, I think I’ve got him!”
Rose looked at the calm, efficient woman in front of her. She had only met her a couple of hours ago, and things had happened so fast since then that she could barely take it all in.
“Feeling overwhelmed?”
“Just a little. What am I going to say when I see him again? In fact, never mind me - what are you going to say?” Rose chuckled at the mad pace of the day, and how much more there was to come.
“Yes, that is a good point. Maybe you should warn him that I’m there first.”
“I… no, maybe that’s a silly idea.”
Romana looked at Rose as she clutched the key around her neck. Rose wasn’t sure how, but she knew that they were both thinking the same thing.
As they chuckled together with a hint of wicked intent, Romana set about materialising her TARDIS around the Doctor’s. Rose was still not used to the smooth ride, but she was rather getting to like it, and made a mental note that the Doctor (or at least, she) might benefit from a few driving lessons from Romana.
And there it was, right in front of her. That familiar blue box. Home.
Rose’s felt dizzy, sick, excited, scared. This was it. Her Doctor was inside, probably hitting the console with the mallet as his trip through the vortex had been interrupted, and she was about to unlock the door and walk in.
“Go on” Romana put her hand on her shoulder. “You’ve waited long enough already. I’ll follow you in a minute, leave the door open for me.”
Rose turned and hugged Romana. They smiled at each other, and Rose put her key to the TARDIS door.
The Doctor was leaping around the console in panic, beating it with a mallet and screaming profanities that even the TARDIS didn’t understand. As Rose looked at the scene in front of her, she saw Jack.
As Jack saw her, the colour drained from his face.
“Err, Doctor…” he whispered.
Rose put her fingers to her lips, winked at him, and he nodded in understanding.
She wasn’t sure how, but she was standing inches behind the Doctor, and he was still too busy giving the console abuse to have noticed her. She couldn’t wait any longer, her heart was pounding and she felt as is she was going to scream with the excitement flowing through her.
She threw her arms around the Doctor’s waist, and he yelped and spun round, almost knocking her to the floor.
“Rose! Rose?” He pulled he into a hug, squeezing her so tight and pushing his head into her shoulder. “Rose.”
As they ran there hands over each other and hugged as tightly as if the world depended on it, time seemed to stand still for them in this perfect moment. Rose could feel a tear on her face, but didn’t know if it was hers or the Doctor’s, and their lips met for the softest of kisses.
“How are you here, my Rose?”
“I’ll tell you everything, I’ve missed you so much.”
“And me you. You came back to me.”
“I had to.”
“I love you.”
Rose smiled, remembering that day on the beach in Norway. This wasn’t the time for sarcasm though. “And I love you, Doctor”
Their lips met again, so gently, as if they were each scared the other would break, and buried themselves in each other and the moment.
“Can I join in?” Jack still looked as white as a ghost, but he had never been one to miss an opportunity.
They ignored his request, but his voice brought Rose back to her senses.
“Doctor.” She whispered between kisses. “I’ve got a surprise for you. Concentrate hard. Can you feel her?”
The Doctor pulled back a little and looked at Rose quizzically. Then he felt it. As he looked around in disbelief, he pulled her in closer, so that she was wrapped around him under a protective arm.
“Hello, Doctor.” Romana walked gracefully into the console room.
“What?”
“I said, Hello, Doctor.” She chuckled at the Doctor’s look of utter bewilderment.
“And Hello you!” Jack said, almost to himself. This was too good to be true, as far as he was concerned.
“Romana, this is Jack. I think he likes you.” Rose winked at Jack again. She was delighted to see him again after so long, but they would have time to catch up later. Right now she was busy being wrapped in the Doctor’s arms
“I could get used to her, as you seem otherwise engaged, Rose.” Jack grinned, unashamedly.
Romana gave Jack a look that Rose was sure would kill anyone else but him. Same old Jack, she thought.
“Hmm, same old Romana!“ The Doctor beamed. “And the new look - I like it, it’s very… you.”
“Less of the ‘old,’ thank you. And you’re not looking so bad yourself, Doctor. Younger every time I see you, it would seem.”
The Doctor stared at her, hardly daring to believe that he had regained both Rose and Romana in the same moment.
“As touching as all these reunions are, Doctor, you might want to let go of the girl now. You’re cutting off her circulation. And it’s my go now.” Jack moved towards Rose and the Doctor.
The Doctor tightened his grip on Rose, and she responded by squeezing him back, and resting her head on his shoulder.
Jack shrugged. “Worth a try, I suppose”
“Of course! I’ve got it! The vortex doesn’t just disappear like that! You’ve materialised around us, haven’t you! Yes, that’s it! It must be! And you know a way through the void! Yes! And you went to get Rose for me! Romana, you are brilliant! You always have been! Brilliant! Yes! I’ve always said so!”
The Doctor paused.
“No, wait. That’s not right. Where have you been all these years? Not here, I’d have known. And how do you know my Rose?”
Romana had so much to tell the Doctor, but now was not the time. “There is plenty of time for explanations later, Doctor. But right now, we may have a problem. My TARDIS is picking something up. It’s shifting time streams, but I’m tracking it, well, we’re tracking it, and whatever it is, the fact that it is trying to avoid us suggests to me that we ought to take a closer look, and sooner rather than later.”
Author: Me!
Rating: PG for parts 1 and 2. This too I think.
Spoilers: Post-Doomsday... yes, another one.
Summary: Rose stared in disbelief. None of this made sense, and part of her wished that it wasn’t her problem to deal with.
Disclaimer: The Doctor is not mine. Yet.
Author’s Note: Right, this is definately going to be in 5 parts. This is a little longer than the other parts, but things are moving on quickly for Rose now!
Part One
Part Two
Rose slung her backpack over her shoulder, and opened the TARDIS door. Of all the ways that she had suspected Jackie might react, acceptance wasn’t one of them. It had been surreal, saying goodbye again. Now that her mother had Pete to look after her, and Jack to look after, she had told her that this was her chance at happiness, to grab it with both hands.
And Rose certainly intended to do that.
“Right, so how does this crossing universes without them collapsing thing work then?” Rose asked, as she put her bag down. There was no need to unpack it, she assumed, not until she was back on her TARDIS.
“It’s difficult to explain,” Romana replied, still deftly tapping away at the console. “Suppose that you were stabbed. What would happen?”
“I’d bleed.”
“Good. I mean, not good that you’d bleed. What would happen if you were stabbed lots of times?”
“Well, I’d bleed lots. I’d die.” Rose wondered how this strange line of questioning was related to universes.
“You would.” Romana stopped what she was doing. “Now, what if your appendix were to burst?”
Suddenly, Rose understood what Romana was getting at. “A surgeon would make a neat cut and control the bleeding, so that he could get to my appendix without me dying.” She smiled, proudly. “And that is what you are going to do, only on a bigger scale.”
Romana smiled in approval at her new recruit. “Correct! Except for one part, it will be ‘we,’ not ‘I.’ I’m going to need you to help out, I’ll tell you when and how.”
As Romana began the dematerialisation sequence, Rose had a pang of doubt. What if the Doctor didn’t want her back? What if he’d moved on? Could things pick up where they had left off? What if the Doctor had regenerated again? How long would it have been for him? What adventures had she missed? Was he even still alive? She wasn’t sure whether or not to share her concern, not least because that thought had just struck her that the Doctor and Romana might have been lovers.
“Rose, it’s time for you to show how much you can do. Come round here, watch this screen.”
Rose was brought back to reality with a jolt. Now was not the time for daydreams and doubts.
“Right, watch this screen. If this flashing dot goes outside this circle, things will get very bad very quickly. Use these buttons to keep it inside, at all costs.”
“OK.” Rose smiled; it seemed like a computer game, not travelling through space, time and voids. The way that her new friend explained things made them seem so clear. No detailed sciency stuff that she couldn’t even pronounce properly.
Romana smiled back. “I can see why the Doctor travelled with you.” She took up position at another screen, and tapped confidently at the buttons in front of her.
“And relax.” Romana stepped back from the console, and looked rather pleased with herself.
“That’s it? We’re there?” Rose had expected a rougher ride - nothing usually ran this smoothly. “We’re in my universe?”
“Yes, we are indeed. Now, no time to waste, I’m getting rather excited at the prospect of surprising the Doctor. We need to talk time. How long do you want it to be since you were separated?”
“Err, not really given it any thought. Same as for me, I suppose?
“That is sensible, yes. I want to pick up on him before he does us though, ah, I think I’ve got him!”
Rose looked at the calm, efficient woman in front of her. She had only met her a couple of hours ago, and things had happened so fast since then that she could barely take it all in.
“Feeling overwhelmed?”
“Just a little. What am I going to say when I see him again? In fact, never mind me - what are you going to say?” Rose chuckled at the mad pace of the day, and how much more there was to come.
“Yes, that is a good point. Maybe you should warn him that I’m there first.”
“I… no, maybe that’s a silly idea.”
Romana looked at Rose as she clutched the key around her neck. Rose wasn’t sure how, but she knew that they were both thinking the same thing.
As they chuckled together with a hint of wicked intent, Romana set about materialising her TARDIS around the Doctor’s. Rose was still not used to the smooth ride, but she was rather getting to like it, and made a mental note that the Doctor (or at least, she) might benefit from a few driving lessons from Romana.
And there it was, right in front of her. That familiar blue box. Home.
Rose’s felt dizzy, sick, excited, scared. This was it. Her Doctor was inside, probably hitting the console with the mallet as his trip through the vortex had been interrupted, and she was about to unlock the door and walk in.
“Go on” Romana put her hand on her shoulder. “You’ve waited long enough already. I’ll follow you in a minute, leave the door open for me.”
Rose turned and hugged Romana. They smiled at each other, and Rose put her key to the TARDIS door.
The Doctor was leaping around the console in panic, beating it with a mallet and screaming profanities that even the TARDIS didn’t understand. As Rose looked at the scene in front of her, she saw Jack.
As Jack saw her, the colour drained from his face.
“Err, Doctor…” he whispered.
Rose put her fingers to her lips, winked at him, and he nodded in understanding.
She wasn’t sure how, but she was standing inches behind the Doctor, and he was still too busy giving the console abuse to have noticed her. She couldn’t wait any longer, her heart was pounding and she felt as is she was going to scream with the excitement flowing through her.
She threw her arms around the Doctor’s waist, and he yelped and spun round, almost knocking her to the floor.
“Rose! Rose?” He pulled he into a hug, squeezing her so tight and pushing his head into her shoulder. “Rose.”
As they ran there hands over each other and hugged as tightly as if the world depended on it, time seemed to stand still for them in this perfect moment. Rose could feel a tear on her face, but didn’t know if it was hers or the Doctor’s, and their lips met for the softest of kisses.
“How are you here, my Rose?”
“I’ll tell you everything, I’ve missed you so much.”
“And me you. You came back to me.”
“I had to.”
“I love you.”
Rose smiled, remembering that day on the beach in Norway. This wasn’t the time for sarcasm though. “And I love you, Doctor”
Their lips met again, so gently, as if they were each scared the other would break, and buried themselves in each other and the moment.
“Can I join in?” Jack still looked as white as a ghost, but he had never been one to miss an opportunity.
They ignored his request, but his voice brought Rose back to her senses.
“Doctor.” She whispered between kisses. “I’ve got a surprise for you. Concentrate hard. Can you feel her?”
The Doctor pulled back a little and looked at Rose quizzically. Then he felt it. As he looked around in disbelief, he pulled her in closer, so that she was wrapped around him under a protective arm.
“Hello, Doctor.” Romana walked gracefully into the console room.
“What?”
“I said, Hello, Doctor.” She chuckled at the Doctor’s look of utter bewilderment.
“And Hello you!” Jack said, almost to himself. This was too good to be true, as far as he was concerned.
“Romana, this is Jack. I think he likes you.” Rose winked at Jack again. She was delighted to see him again after so long, but they would have time to catch up later. Right now she was busy being wrapped in the Doctor’s arms
“I could get used to her, as you seem otherwise engaged, Rose.” Jack grinned, unashamedly.
Romana gave Jack a look that Rose was sure would kill anyone else but him. Same old Jack, she thought.
“Hmm, same old Romana!“ The Doctor beamed. “And the new look - I like it, it’s very… you.”
“Less of the ‘old,’ thank you. And you’re not looking so bad yourself, Doctor. Younger every time I see you, it would seem.”
The Doctor stared at her, hardly daring to believe that he had regained both Rose and Romana in the same moment.
“As touching as all these reunions are, Doctor, you might want to let go of the girl now. You’re cutting off her circulation. And it’s my go now.” Jack moved towards Rose and the Doctor.
The Doctor tightened his grip on Rose, and she responded by squeezing him back, and resting her head on his shoulder.
Jack shrugged. “Worth a try, I suppose”
“Of course! I’ve got it! The vortex doesn’t just disappear like that! You’ve materialised around us, haven’t you! Yes, that’s it! It must be! And you know a way through the void! Yes! And you went to get Rose for me! Romana, you are brilliant! You always have been! Brilliant! Yes! I’ve always said so!”
The Doctor paused.
“No, wait. That’s not right. Where have you been all these years? Not here, I’d have known. And how do you know my Rose?”
Romana had so much to tell the Doctor, but now was not the time. “There is plenty of time for explanations later, Doctor. But right now, we may have a problem. My TARDIS is picking something up. It’s shifting time streams, but I’m tracking it, well, we’re tracking it, and whatever it is, the fact that it is trying to avoid us suggests to me that we ought to take a closer look, and sooner rather than later.”